KPMG Report: The value of Information Management in construction for VolkerWessels

A report commissioned by the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB) and prepared by KPMG focused on the value of Information Management within construction and infrastructure sectors. Eleven organisations were invited to participate with two leading questions being asked:

1. How are construction and infrastructure organisations creating, managing and making use of quality and timely information?
2. What value does this deliver for those organisations as well as their customers, wider society and the economy?

VolkerWessels UK participation in the value of information management in construction report

VolkerWessels UK were one of the eleven participants and as Volker are the UK’s largest users of LetsBuild, it was highly valuable to see in their case study the reference to LetsBuild.

In 2018, the group launched its ‘Tomorrow Now’ digital transformation strategy operating across the groups’ five business units. The group has established a vision to be “Powered by Data and Driven by People”. Central to VolkerWessels UK’s Digital Toolbox approach in capital delivery is the use of three outcomes against which the impact of digital transformation is measured and evaluated for individual client projects. These are:

• Reduction in failure cost
• Improved performance
• Improved staff productivity

Further read: VolkerFitzpatrick gains full project visibility with their subcontractors

The direct benefits for VolkerWessels UK from the use of Information Management

Benefits of digital transformation for VolkerWessels

Across VolkerFitzpatrick’s five projects that have employed the Digital Toolbox, the business unit is expecting to realise:

• An estimated reduction in site staff time of around 3.7%, with this labour productivity improvement enabling staff to better focus on delivery and strategic activities such as management of the supply chain, risk management and reducing failure costs.
• An estimated circa 1% project margin improvement from a combination of both an improved efficiency margin and costs avoided (very broadly split 50/50 in terms of the benefit attributable to each).
• Based on the cost to deliver and support these efficiencies (including staff time associated with selecting, and rolling out, chosen technologies to the 5 projects as well as training/upskilling costs and direct technology costs), an estimated project-level financial return of £6.90 for every £1 of the project-specific costs incurred in applying the Digital Toolbox approach.

About VolkerWessels UK

VolkerWessels UK is a multi-disciplinary contractor that delivers innovative solutions across the civil engineering and construction sectors, including rail, highways, airports, marine, energy, water, and environmental infrastructure. It operates through five separate but complementary business units – VolkerFitzpatrick, VolkerRail, VolkerStevin, VolkerHighways and VolkerLaser, and has a turnover of £1,180 million (2019) and circa 3,000 employees nationally.

Other report participants

Organisations interviewed:

• Atkins and Faithful+Gould (SNC-Lavalin)
• Babcock
• Balfour Beatty plc
• BDP
• BIM4Water
• The Cabinet Office
• Connect Plus Services
• EDAROTH Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of Atkins – part of the SNC-Lavalin Group)
• Environment Agency
• Government Property Agency (GPA)
• Heathrow Airport Ltd (Heathrow)
• Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
• Mott MacDonald
• The Met Office
• Skanska UK plc
• Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM)
• UK BIM Alliance Wales
• VolkerWessels UK
• Yorkshire Water

You can access KPMG’s report here.

If you want to learn more about how you can benefit from digital tools like Volker, you can download any of our free ebooks here. You can also read how VolkerFitzpatrick uses LetsBuild here!